Miami Vice
This article is about the TV series itself. For other uses, see Miami Vice (Disambiguation). Miami Vice is a television series produced by Michael Mann for the NBC network. The show became noted for its heavy integration of pop music and visual effects to tell a story. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade (now known as Miami-Dade) Vice detectives working undercover in Miami's drug and prostitution underworld. It ran for five seasons on NBC from September, 1984 through June, 1989. The USA Network subsequently broadcast one unaired episode in January, 1990. A movie adaptation was released in July, 2006, directed by Michael Mann and starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx in the lead roles. Origins of Miami Vice The show was the brainchild of then-NBC program executive Brandon Tartikoff, who, according to legend, wrote a memo on a napkin simply stating "MTV Cops" (referencing the unprecedented success of the Music Television network). He presented the memo to Anthony Yerkovich, previously a writer and producer on another NBC police series, Hill Street Blues. Yerkovich says the idea grew when they learned of a recently passed law allowing law enforcement agencies to seize property and ill-gotten gains from the criminals they prosecuted and use it in departmental operations (this law is even referenced by name in the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)"). Yerkovich created his script, initially called Gold Coast, about two Miami-based Vice cops working undercover to try and stem the influx of narcotics into the city. Later during the production the title was changed to Miami Vice, and the legendary series was born. Production Unusually for an American TV series, the show was shot on location in Miami, despite threats to move the production from the city later in the show's run due to the high costs it entailed. The realism this location shooting brought about, with an emphasis on the art deco design prevalent in the buildings of the city, helped the show stand out from contemporary police series. High production values also helped embellish this unique visual style, with cinematography that rivalled that of many movies, atypical of other 1980s television series. Each episode cost around $1.3 million to make, some 30% more than most other police series at the time. The series was one of the first to be broadcast in stereophonic sound, new to TV in the 1980s, which brought out the music and sound effects in a way rarely seen at the time. As Executive Producer, a title he would hold throughout the show's run, Michael Mann gave the production team one simple rule to adhere to -- "No Earth Tones!" The distinctive visual appearance of the series, particularly in its early seasons, was one of pastel colors, both for the actors and the scenes in which they operated. The use of designer clothes and sports cars for both the undercover detectives and the criminals they pursued gave the appearance of high wealth for everyone. During production, much of the South Beach area in which the show was set was blighted by dilapidated buildings, homeless people and crime; in order to achieve the shots and scenes they needed, the production team would paint over graffiti and fix up decaying structures. This renovation led to something of a renaissance in the South Beach area as other buildings and hotels were restored, contributing to the revitalization of the area in the 1990s and the influx of celebrities and luxury hotels and clubs in the 2000s. Today, the area is a mecca for the rich and famous. In keeping with the subject matter implied by the show's title, the majority of episodes revolved around drug dealers and their distributors, prostitution rings, arms smugglers, counterfeiting, contraband electronics, and other similar crimes. Many episodes ended with spectacular gun battles, often resulting in the deaths of the primary antagonist(s) as well as many of their goons. The underlying theme of the series is the complete futility of the battle against drug cartels; often, the actual kingpin of the organisation would escape prosecution altogether, and even when the detectives did succeed in securing a lasting conviction, several new groups would be waiting to step into the void left by the departed criminals. Another constant issue the Vice cops had to deal with was the corruption present within the Metro-Dade police department and other governmental agencies (FBI/CIA/ATF/DEA) combating drugs in Florida, as drug dealers bribed low-level clerks and even high-ranking officials to help safeguard their positions of criminal power. Early episodes had many of the elements of a standard police procedural, such as the explicit planning of busts, but as the series progressed these aspects were largely abandoned to allow for greater focus on the show's use of cool dialogue, crisp images and unexpected endings. Casting Among the actors considered for the role of James "Sonny" Crockett were Gary Cole (who later appeared in the episode "Trust Fund Pirates"), Larry Wilcox (previously on CHiPs), Jeff Bridges and Nick Nolte (both of whom declined due to a desire to focus on their movie careers). After auditioning numerous actors, Mann and Yerkovich agreed on Don Johnson (despite protests from NBC executives, who were concerned by the fact that he had recently appeared in several failed pilots), with Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs. Gregory Sierra was brought in as the Vice Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez, although he was replaced after just four episodes with Edward James Olmos's Castillo due to Sierra's displeasure with working in Miami. Michael Talbott and John Diehl were cast as Stan Switek and Larry Zito, the squad's surveillance operatives who usually operated out of their "Bug Van", and initially served as comic relief to balance the often dark nature of the cases Crockett and Tubbs were involved with. Saundra Santiago and Olivia Brown completed the team as Gina Calabrese and Trudy Joplin respectively, female police officers who seemed to be used for little more than baiting egotistical male criminals early on, but later, as with Switek and Zito, became more serious characters integral to the show. Guest Stars Another noteworthy aspect of the show was it's enormous repertoire of guest stars, including famous actors and actresses of the time, as well as many who were virtually unknown when they were cast but have subsequently moved on to become some of the most recognisable names in Hollywood. Guest stars included Joaquim de Almeida, Xander Berkeley, Helena Bonham Carter, Brian Dennehy, Charles S. Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, Pam Grier, Brion James, Penelope Ann Miller, Viggo Mortensen, John Leguizamo, Michael Madsen, Ian McShane, Liam Neeson, Terry O'Quinn, Bill Paxton, Ron Perlman, C.C.H. Pounder, Ving Rhames, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, Wesley Snipes, Dean Stockwell, George Takei, Benecio del Toro, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro and Bruce Willis, to name but a few. Many musicians also appeared on the show, whether it be performing as themselves or in an acting capacity. Those that appeared as actors included James Brown, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, Sheena Easton, Glenn Frey, Isaac Hayes, Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent and Frank Zappa, among others. Those that appeared as themselves performing music live included The Power Station, Cleavant Derricks, Jermaine Stewart, David Johansen, Suicidal Tendencies, and others. Music :See also: Music Miami Vice ''was one of the first shows to incorporate popular music into the episodes at appropriate moments. The show was also complimented by background music specially composed by Jan Hammer (seasons 1-4) and Tim Truman (season 5), instead of using the stock or made-for-TV music common in programmes of the time. Universal reportedly paid out around $10,000 per episode for the rights to use pop songs by artists such as U2, Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, The Doors, Foreigner, Peter Gabriel, Billy Idol, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner, and many others. MCA Records released three soundtrack albums from the series: [[Miami Vice (Album)|''Miami Vice]] in 1985 (which to this day is the last TV soundtrack to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart), Miami Vice II, released in 1986, and Miami Vice III, released in 1988. These albums mostly consisted of popular songs featured in the series, but also included some compositions by Jan Hammer. Hammer has also released his own cues independently, first with his album Escape From Television in 1987 and again in 2002 with the much more comprehensive Miami Vice: The Complete Collection, featuring an extensive selection of his background music used in the series' first four seasons. The music used during the series' first two seasons often consisted of light, contemporary pop music, including songs featured in the charts at the time. Starting with season 3, the music varied between pop and gritter alternative/new wave/techno sounds, giving viewers a preview of the genre change in popular music to a more alternative sound in the early 1990s. There was also an increase in the amount of rock music used later in the series. So popular was the use of music in the show that during Vice's heyday weekly newspapers such as USA Today would publish song lists for each episode, artists would clamor to get a song to used on the show, and American viewers were treated to music from European groups that had never otherwise had a song played in the US. Several songs, such as Glenn Frey's "You Belong To The City" and Andy Taylor's "When The Rain Comes Down", were written specifically for the series and never appeared outside of the show other than on the official associated soundtracks. Frequently cited as the show's hallmark moment is the "In the Air Tonight" sequence from the show's pilot, "Brother's Keeper", when Crockett and Tubbs drive through the Miami night to a drug deal accompanied by the Phil Collins song. The heavy integration of pop music in the show led to a lengthy delay in releasing the show on DVD nearly 20 years later. Budget cuts in the fifth season reduced the number of pop songs featured to the least of any season. Fashion Miami Vice ''was responsible for major fashion changes in the mid-1980s, as the show popularized, or even invented the "T-Shirt under Armani" look. Don Johnson's attire of unconstructed blazer, pastel-colored T-shirt, white linen pants, and loafers without socks caught on around the country, along with Johnson's "designer stubble" (which even led to the marketing of a specialized razor called the "Miami Device" that would leave a very short layer of stubble on a man's face). Phillip Michael Thomas, meanwhile, would usually wear silk suits from designers Gianni Versace and Hugo Boss. After Six created "Miami Vice" dinner jackets, Kenneth Cole created Crockett and Tubbs shoes, and Macy's opened a dedicated "Miami Vice" section for young men. In Season 3, the pastels that epitomised the early episodes were largely replaced by darker greens and blues, which upset fans to the extent that the pastels were reintroduced for seasons 4 and 5, though by the middle of Season 5 Crockett could often be seen wearing jeans and denim instead of his linen suits. The fashion trends established in the show's five year run continued into the early 1990s. Cars and Boats Crockett's primary car in the first two seasons of the show was a black 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona, actually portrayed by a kit car based on a Chevrolet Corvette C3. When Enzo Ferrari threatened a lawsuit regarding the use of Ferrari replicas, the fake Daytona was blown up in Season 3's "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" and replaced with a 1986 Testarossa (two were donated by Ferrari, initially black but repainted white before their introduction as Crockett's new car). Tubbs drove a blue/green 1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible, Switek (when not in the Dodge Ram surveillance van) drove a 1963 Ford Thunderbird convertible, and Gina drove a 1971 Mercury Cougar Convertible. Besides the vehicles used by the main characters, many other lavish sports and muscle cars of the day appeared frequently on the show, including Aston Martins, Corvettes, DeLoreans, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mercedes-Benzes, Mustangs, Plymouths, Pontiacs, Porsches and Rolls Royces, among others. Crockett lived on a yacht, the ''St. Vitus Dance, portrayed by three different boats over the course of the series -- in the pilot, his home is a Cabo Rico 38 sailboat, in Seasons 1-2, it is an Endeavour 40, and in Seasons 3-5 it is an Endeavour 42. The St. Vitus rarely seemed to leave it's mooring at Miamarina, now known as Bayside Marketplace, although occasionally it was used by Crockett as an easy means of "disappearing" persons of interest to Miami's criminal underworld, such as witness Keith Mollis in "Line Of Fire". When rapid transport over water was required, he used a modified SCARAB 38' KV speedboat for the majority of the series, after replacing the Stinger 390x he used in Season 1. Episodes :See also: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5 Seasons 1 & 2 The episodes in the first two seasons were often light-hearted and more humorous than in later seasons, with supporting characters such as Izzy Moreno and "The Noogman" providing comic relief (as well as street tips on the cases the main characters were investigating). Elvis, Crockett's pet alligator, provided his own "bite" into Crockett's boat life. The first few episodes also covered Crockett's divorce from his wife Caroline and it's effects on his son Billy, and the Vice cop's subsequent relationship with his co-worker Gina. At the same time, Tubbs was adjusting to life in Miami after so many years living in New York, and the whole team had to deal with the death of their Lieutenant and the arrival of his replacement, Martin Castillo, who's gruff attitude and character initially took them aback. Crockett and Tubbs had to battle (and eventually take down) the Calderone cartel, headed by the man responsible for the death of Tubbs' brother in New York. Later, Crockett and Tubbs travelled to New York to eliminate the Revilla drug empire, responsible for the deaths of numerous DEA agents in Miami, and very nearly Gina as well. The Calderones also returned in the form of the deceased kingpin's son Orlando and daughter Angelina, the latter of whom had engaged in a brief relationship with Tubbs, resulting in the revelation that he had fathered a son. Tubbs, Jr. was later kidnapped by Orlando, along with his mother, as a means of insurance while the he made his escape from Miami, but during a botched rescue attempt both were presumed killed in a car bomb explosion, leaving Tubbs devastated. The Vice department also regularly had to compete with internal corruption interfering with cases and blocking their attempts to tackle major criminals. Other real-life situations touched upon early in the show included the plight of Cuban exiles in Miami, the homeless and the South American drug war, but overall their depiction was not as hard-hitting as in later seasons. Scenes of mid-1980s party excess, both in clubs and at the residences of wealthy drug dealers, were a common sight in the first two seasons. The integration of pop music was also at its highest, with the second season containing more music than any other season of the show with over 90 songs used, including 14 in the second season opener, "The Prodigal Son". Seasons 3 & 4 (The Dick Wolf Years) Before the third season began, Don Johnson threatened to leave the series in a salary dispute that was only resolved when Michael Mann threatened to replace Johnson with Mark Harmon, who had recently departed the medical drama St. Elsewhere. The delay nearly cost Vice an appearance by legendary country singer Willie Nelson. Dick Wolf took over as line producer; while Mann was still credited as executive producer, he had little to do with the show at this point as he was overseeing his other TV project, Crime Story, and directing his third feature film Manhunter (notable as it contains a large number of Miami Vice actors and actresses). As a result of the new management, the appearance and tone of the show drastically changed. Side characters such as Noogie Lamont and Crockett's pet alligator Elvis were either slowly phased out or deleted entirely. Also gone were the pastel colors and laid-back storylines, in favor of darker colors and plots "ripped from the headlines" -- based on contemporary events such as the Northern Ireland conflict, the Iran-Contra affair, illegal adoptions, AIDS and political infidelity. John Diehl's character, Larry Zito, was killed off midway through the third season in a two-part episode. The elimination of the show's trademark pastels, as well as it's rescheduling to 9:00pm on Friday nights, thereby putting it in direct competition CBS' top-rated show, Dallas, began to drive fans away from the series and seriously hurt its audience ratings. Pastel colors were reintroduced in season 4, but by then a writing staff desperate to recapture the successful tone of the earlier seasons led to several stories that veered wildly into attempts at science-fiction and comedy, with episodes such as "The Big Thaw" and "Missing Hours" regularly being rated as the worst of the entire series and a serious detriment to the otherwise high quality of the programme. At the same time, many other episodes began taking dark turns, resulting in more violent conclusions than in the past and giving the season a decidedly uneven feel. By this time, Dick Wolf had moved to the position of co-executive producer, although he still made significant contributions to the show's stories. Another move made to improve sagging ratings was the introduction of Sheena Easton as Crockett's pop singer wife, Caitlin. The idea proved successful, but Easton's character was killed off in the season's pentimulate episode, "Deliver Us From Evil". A cliffhanger finale in which amnesia caused Crockett to become his drug-dealing alter-ego Sonny Burnett proved divisive, with some fans finding the plot too far-fetched to be believable, while others appreciated Don Johnson's portrayal of a villain. Season 5 The final season saw the resolution of the Sonny Burnett cliffhanger and the return of Crockett to the Metro-Dade Vice department, although the consequences of his actions would haunt him for the rest of the season. Wolf left the series to create his own police drama, Law & Order, leaving Mann as the sole executive producer, although his position remained largely ceremonial, despite the fact that Crime Story had been cancelled at the end of the 1988 season. Jan Hammer also left the series before it's final season, and the background music changed to Tim Truman's more gritty, rock-orientated sound, a stark contrast to the smooth synth vibes that had come to be associated with the series. Despite his departure, Hammer's intro theme remained intact for the show's entire run. The show began to "push the envelope" with its language, violence, and subjects normally considered taboo on television at the time, with episodes containing homosexual relationships and child molestation. There were few episodes where the entire regular cast appeared as a result of their seeking other opportunities due to the impending cancellation of the series. Switek developed a gambling addiction that would cause him grief throughout the season, and Crockett and Tubbs began to feel the hopeless futility of their jobs, fighting increased corruption, political pressure, and government intervention, culminating in their quitting the force in the series finale, "Freefall". Series History and Cancellation The series' pilot episode aired in September, 1984, on a Sunday night. The show moved to Fridays at 10:00pm (known as the Friday Night Death Slot because most viewers are not home at that time), where it remained for the first two seasons. Miami Vice's ratings were fair during season 1 until the summer reruns, when people who may have been watching the show's competition caught the series for the first time; the reruns consistently reached the Top 10. Season 2's ratings were the best of the series, ending at #9. Season 3 saw the series moved to the 9:00 time slot (where it remained until near the end of season 4), directly competing with CBS' mega-hit Dallas, and while both shows' ratings were affected, Miami Vice was hit the worst, falling out of the Top 10. By Season 5, viewers were turning to police shows like 21 Jump Street ''and ''Wiseguy, which featured a younger, more modern cast. The continued high production costs on Vice, coupled with low ratings, resulted in NBC pulling the plug in 1989, with "Freefall" as the series finale. However, NBC still held four episodes that had not aired. The first three of these "lost" episodes would not see the light of day until June, 1989, by which time reruns of the show had moved to Wednesdays at 10:00. A fourth unaired episode, "Too Much, Too Late", was declared inappropriate for broadcast by NBC and not aired on the network. The series' final NBC broadcast was on Wednesday, July 26, 1989. The show moved to syndication on USA Network in the fall of 1989, and they finally aired "Too Much, Too Late" in January of 1990. In the years since, the series has appeared on the cable networks FX, TNN/Spike, TV Land, and Sleuth (now called "cloo"). Currently, the Centric Network is airing the series. Seasons 2-4 (except for "French Twist" and "Rising Sun Of Death") are available for free (with commercials) on Hulu.com, and all five seasons (except "French Twist") are available on Hulu Plus (with commercials, monthly fee $7.99). Over the course of it's five-year run, Miami Vice won four Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, two People's Choice Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for many more. Influence Miami Vice's influence on popular culture has been far-reaching and the show is considered by many to be one of the most influential television series ever made. Arguably it's most defining and innovative feature was it's frequent inclusion of music as an integral part of a scene, and this technique is now a common feature of modern TV dramas. However, the show's influence extends far beyond that of television. The heavy use of pastel clothes had a direct effect on the fashions of the time, and sales of Ray-Ban Wayfarers enjoyed a huge boost after their appearance as Sonny Crockett's sunglasses of choice on the show. Even sales of the Bren Ten pistol skyrocketed following it's prominent appearance in the first two seasons, so much so that Dornaus & Dixon were unable to meet the demand and eventually went bankrupt. In 1984, before the show had even started, NBC produced a television special designed to preview the network's 1984-85 fall schedule, and included in that special was a skit called Miami Nice about a group of older women living in Miami. The skit later evolved into the classic series The Golden Girls, which retained its "Miami Nice" nickname throughout it's run to contrast it from the hit crime drama (though the show was actually shot in Los Angeles, not Miami) and concluded its' network run in 1992 after seven seasons, two longer than Vice. The E! network's series, The E! True Hollywood Story, devoted one episode to Vice ''in 2001, featuring then-new interviews with the cast except for Don Johnson (who was involved in ''Nash Bridges at the time and presumably was not available, though the program used previously-recorded interviews for Johnson), reviewing the origin of the series, the making of the pilot, Vice's ''immense popularity in the mid-1980's, and its' cancellation in 1989. In 2010 the Nike shoe company created an advert featuring NBA star LeBron James (who played for the Miami Heat) that parodied a number of pop culture ideas while he tried to determine what he wanted to do with his life. When he suggests going into acting, the ''Miami Vice logo suddenly appears, accompanied by "Crockett's Theme". In the following brief scene, Don Johnson (dressed as Sonny Crockett, complete with white blazer, pastel T-shirt and "designer stubble") gives typically Crockett-esque policing advice to LeBron, who is wearing one of Rico Tubbs' trademark suits with tie. LeBron's response of, "Should I be writing this down?" is confidently confirmed by Crockett. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Possibly the greatest homages to the show are the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and it's prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), which, aside from the broad-ranging similarities (heavy inclusion of 80's music -- including new wave, glam metal and synthesizer pop -- dealings with organized crime, drug trafficking, styled cars, prostitution, pastel clothes etc), include several direct references to the show, not least of all the use of the word "Vice" in their titles. Another prominent homage occurs when the player achieves a three-star wanted level or higher; along with traditional police squad cars, the player will find themselves being pursued by an unmarked police-issue Cheetah, a car heavily modelled after the 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, driven by two unnamed, casually dressed undercover cops, one Caucasian and one African-American. Furthermore, the Cheetah they drive is often coloured white, and features the tan leather interior from the car used on show, not found on the games' regular Cheetahs. Another direct link to Miami Vice is the inclusion of "Crockett's Theme" on Vice City's in-game radio station Emotion 98.3. Many other popular songs that were used in Miami Vice are featured on the fictional radio stations in both games, including "Missing You" by John Waite, "Turn Up The Radio" by Autograph and "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. Also, the Vice City intro theme was composed very much in the style of Jan Hammer, specifically his "Miami Vice Theme". Aside from music, the games feature an extensive cast of well-known Hollywood actors voicing their characters, akin to the famously large number of guest stars featured in the television show. Most notable of these is Lance Vance, one of the primary characters in both Vice City games, who is voiced by none other than Philip Michael Thomas. Another noteworthy appearance is by Phil Collins, as himself, in Vice City Stories, which even includes him performing a specially recorded rendition of his hit "In The Air Tonight" at an in-game concert during one of the missions. Vice City Stories also features interactions with an undercover law enforcement officer who dresses in a white suit, loafers and a pastel pink t-shirt, mimicking one of Crockett's famous Season 1-2 looks. Two of the in-game street gangs, the Cubans and the Haitians, wear the same clothing as two prominent extras from a scene in the pilot episode, specifically the scene where Tubbs first arrives at Miami airport. Many vehicles in the city are also modelled after vehicles from the TV series, including the Squalo (Crockett's first speedboat), the Stinger (Crockett's Daytona), and the Infernus (a Lamborghini Countach, featured heavily in "Golden Triangle (Part II)" and "Bought and Paid For"). DVD Releases Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released all five Miami Vice seasons on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4, starting in 2005. In America, the Season 1 and 2 releases consisted of three double-sided discs, a decision that drew some criticism. Universal apparently heeded these complaints, and later seasons came on six single-sided discs per season. Releases in other regions copied the latter six-disc format, with the exception of the UK Season 1 set, which is spread across eight discs. The DVD sets do not contain any special features with the exception of Season 1; the set contains four short making-of featurettes, "The Vibe of Vice", "Building the Perfect Vice", "The Style Of Vice" and "The Music of Vice", as well as a brief documentary entitled "Miami After Vice", which is actually about the city itself rather than the show. A combined set of Seasons 1 and 2 was released in Region 2 only. On November 13, 2007, Universal released the complete series in America, consisting of the five separate season sets grouped together in one suede-lined box, with Seasons 1 and 2 now presented on single-sided discs in line with the latter seasons. The Region 2 equivalent, housed within unique packaging, followed soon after, although it did not contain any of the featurettes, despite the fact they had been included in the region's Season 1 set.